Bristol Rugby will return to Premiership Rugby next season "under a new name as Bristol Bears," according to Ben Coles of the London TELEGRAPH. The news comes "shortly after the club's promotion" to the English top flight was confirmed on April 7 with three rounds remaining in the Rugby Football Union Championship. Bristol Owner Steve Lansdown revealed "the process of rebranding the club had been planned for some time." The club was previously known as Bristol Shoguns from '01-05 as part of a sponsorship deal with car manufacturer Mitsubishi. Landsdown said, "The rebranding is not a knee-jerk decision -- it's a process that we have been exploring for a number of years and everybody involved has worked tirelessly to deliver a strategy that we trust and believe will result in success" (TELEGRAPH, 4/16). In London, Owen Slot reported Mark Regan, one of the club's "most loyal and best known" England internationals, said, "Let's hope it's a grizzly and not a teddy." There will "undoubtedly be some mirth at Bristol's expense," though professional sport has "long been packaged and then repackaged with new names and badges and mottos, very many of them with animal associations, in the eternal drive to court an audience and sell tickets." Bristol is one of England's oldest clubs -- it has a 130-year history -- but in explaining its decision, it acknowledged that it "had been losing some ground and support to local rivals" Bath and Exeter. Lansdown said, "We have to be prepared to break the mold and be relentless in driving the progression of this rugby club" (LONDON TIMES, 4/16). The BBC's Andrew Alioa reported in a 19-page brochure that accompanied the relaunch, the club "drew heavily on comparison to the bear," referencing physicality, spirit, hunger and fearlessness as well as "awakening from hibernation." Reaction on social media has been "largely negative from fans," with Bristol Rugby Supporters Club Treasurer Mike West saying that "many would refuse to acknowledge the Bears moniker." Bristol, the city itself, has no history of being home to any bears (BBC, 4/16).
